Hidden Messages Connected To Ramesses II Were Uncovered On The Egyptian Obelisk In Paris
For more than 3,000 years, secret hieroglyphics related to the pharaoh Ramses II have been hidden on the Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The discovery was made in December 2021 by a French Egyptologist named Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier from the Catholic Institute of Paris.
He was able to access the top of the monument after renovations on scaffolding. No one else had ever accomplished this feat since its arrival in France in 1836.
The obelisk was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt and was delivered during the reign of Louis Philippe. So far, it has stood in France for more than two centuries.
Olette-Pelletier identified seven images just beneath the monument’s tip. Some of them were shaped like rebuses, while others contained symbolic structures.
The find adds to the work of Jacques-Joseph Champollion, who studied the obelisk in the 1830s but had missed these features.
The hieroglyphics were carved on all four faces of the monument, which is originally from the Temple of Amun in Luxor.
They can only be understood when viewed at certain angles, according to Olette-Pelletier. The best angle was from boats that once traveled across the Nile.
The messages were reserved for a highly educated elite who was skilled at reading hieroglyphics. They praised Ramses II, who was widely considered the greatest pharaoh in ancient Egypt, and confirmed his divine right to the throne.
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It is believed that the engravings were made in two phases. The first set was made on the central lines, while the second was later made on the side columns of the obelisk to emphasize the king’s authority at various levels of visibility.
Olette-Pelletier first noticed the secret codes while examining the crowns that the figures wore in the carvings. On the side that used to face the Nile, there was a symbol hidden in Ramses’ crown. The hieroglyph depicted the horns of a bull, which symbolized strength and kingship in ancient Egypt.
Then, he uncovered additional signs. When they were pieced together, they revealed a message that meant: “Appease the life force of the god Amun.”
The texts addressed visitors to the temple, in particular, the nobility, who would have arrived by boat during an annual religious ceremony called the Opet Festival.
“These messages are a form of propaganda in favor of the builder of the site: Pharaoh Ramses II,” said Olette-Pelletier.
Furthermore, the detail of an offering table was found beneath one of the images of the god Amon. In order to read the messages, viewers had to walk around the obelisk and piece together separate fragments.
Looking at just one part wouldn’t make any sense, but together, they commended Ramses II and referred to his divine status. Olette-Pelletier’s work is now under review for publication.
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